Images of Broken Light
by twisted diction
Summary: I was going to do it. It was society's standards, that a "successful" man or woman not be a trainer. Perseverance is required to be a trainer since day one, that's why I'm running away. I grabbed my phone and texted, "I'm ready. Let's go."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is my first time writing a fanfic. My first time doing any type of creative writing too.. so.. bare with me. Or is it bear with me? URSARING. Anyway, enjoy!

It's gonna be rated T for language, violence, and, well, whatever i feel like..

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon or its characters in any way.

* * *

I'm going to do it.

Growing up most of my life in Fiore, I was discouraged to do it. It was society's standards, that a "successful" man or woman be a ranger, professor, diplomat, doctor, or operator. Never a trainer.

Sure, trainers were idolized and respected for their talents. Chased by paparazzi. Were household names. Posters. T-shirts. Movies. Ads. Covers. They went on talk shows. They talked. In turn, everyone talked about them. However, it was an "un-talked" taboo to pursue training.

I always thought that it's discouraged, and even looked down upon, because you don't have to go to a university to be a talented trainer. You can just get up and be the best. It's not something that can be bought by the high classes in Fiore, or even in Kanto or Johto. Not like being an operator or a ranger. Those didn't depend on an innate talent or even the determination that it takes to be a good trainer. Sure, experience, determination, and courage were crucial in having a good career of any type. But right now, anyone can become a ranger anywhere, not do anything, and eventually climb up the ranks to be paid innumerable amounts of dough.

Perseverance was required to be a trainer since your first day. Maybe I'm just bitter.

My family moved from Goldenrod when I was ten. People were being laid off left and right, so we moved to Fiore, to this little, piece of shit town called Ring Town. Again, it's my bitterness talking for me. We moved from one of the centers of the world, with the most energy and fervor, to a town where everyone went to sleep at ten. Everyone went to school. Everyone talked about everyone's business. Everyone looked down upon farmers.

My dad also died when I was ten. I didn't really care, since I caught him cheating on my mom. Well, technically. He talked to other women on the internet and sometimes on the phone. I wouldn't doubt it if he saw them in person. Who knows what they did when they met up. We weren't close anyway.

Anyway, dad died and since mom didn't work we had no other option but to move. We lived off of friends for about a year, since we didn't have any other family members and no work was available. But the economy was so bad that we couldn't do it anymore. We had to find something my mom could work as, and find it fast. So my little brother, my mom, and I moved to Fiore, where the farming business began to boom and we had a family friend that helped us start out. Mom now grows grapes, and sometimes makes her own wine. The wine tastes horrible, but I'm not telling her that.

I'm also not telling her that I'm running away to become a trainer. I grabbed my phone, scrolled down to the "D"s, and texted, "I'm ready. Let's go."

* * *

**A/N:** Read and Review!


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay. I'm at the meeting spot."

I grabbed my back pack, and walked slowly down the stairs. I never thought the staircase could make so much noise. For once, I was glad we didn't have a pet Meowth or something. Son of a bitch would've given me away.

I walked in the kitchen and turned on the sink light. I looked through cupboards and found some corn, peas, and peaches in cans and slipped them in my bag. Everything was surreal. I couldn't believe that I finally made up my mind to run away.

Dali always said that she would do it with me. Every time I got sad because of school, social status, or anything, she would hug me and say that if I ever wanted to leave, she would back me up. It seemed like she was always more willing to get up and leave than I ever was.

Now, she was outside of my house waiting for me in a taxi to go to Fall City, where we would later leave to go to Hoenn. She was running away from her family and paying for the expenses to get out of Fiore. Yet, her family would never let her leave; we were sure they were going to chase after her.

We'd never let them catch us though. We knew it would be a never ending game of tag, like the sun chasing the moon, trying to catch her to get back what she's stealing from him. At least until we got out of Fiore. It made me excited and sad at the same time.

I grabbed a pen and napkin and began writing down whatever came to mind.

"Mom,"

I put the pen down. It was harder than I thought it would be. I wiped a tear away and swallowed all the angst that was building up in my throat. I had to.

"I'm leaving. I'll call you in a week from today, I promise. I'll be okay and I'll call you if anything happens. I'll explain everything later, even though you'll probably find out what happened before we talk. Don't be scared. I'll be back soon. I love you."

Unlike other parents, my mom didn't discourage me from becoming what I wanted. In fact, she supported me in every way. She signed me up for training classes at Ring Town Community College. She paid it with all the money she could save up.

The classes were a waste of time. The professor, who was a trainer back in his olden days just talked about type advantages and breeding and special moves and stuff. It seemed like he envied us for being young. I could tell he still wanted to be our age and to be traveling. Of course, I didn't tell mom the classes were shitty.

Things were really tight that month, and it killed me that we had to eat potato soup for an entire week because of me. She even taped the Indigo Plateau Conference and the Ever Grande City Championship every year. She's gonna miss me. But at least I'll be one less mouth to feed.

I put the note on the counter, the pen in my bag, the bag on my back, and walked towards the sliding glass door. As soon as I started sliding it, I cussed and for the first time in my life, I wished we lived in Sinnoh. The nocturne Kricketune would disguise the obnoxious loud sound the door was making.

As I walked down the road, I thought about Dali. She was close with her family. I really liked them, but their morals and actions didn't match up to mine. Her dad was a politician who was pushing for more taxes on farming and for a new law for farmers to give more hard earned money to the government.

She was also having a hard time because her brother and sister were 29 and 27, and they didn't like her because of the huge age gap. They would throw away, burn, or destroy anything to do with traveling. Maps, compasses, etcetera. They would do anything to tear down her dream just because of the bitterness they had for not realizing theirs and still living at home. There are a lot of bitter people in this world.

I got in the backseat of the black taxi and sat beside Dali, who was smoking a cigarette and had her pet Eevee, "Isabella," on her lap.

"Hey."

"Hey. How ya feeling?" Dali asked.

"Alright. I don't want to talk about it more than I already have."

"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she paused, "If you do want to talk about it, you know I'm here to listen," she said and told the driver to go ahead and take Transroute 440 to Fall City.

The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous and unbelievable it seemed that we were actually doing this. I was going to become a trainer and nothing or no one was going to stop me.

Isabella fell asleep first, followed by Dali. Thoughts poured and flowed through my head, faster than the speed the car was going. I thought about how much I was going to miss my mom and bro. When I was ever going to see them again. How Dali thinks we're going to get away with her family chasing us. How we were going to get to Hoenn. How I was going to catch my starter Pokemon. And how a new chapter in my life was unfolding. Even if we did get to Fall City and came back for some reason, it'd be significant. It was now or never.

Hours must have passed since the sun began to rise. Isabella woke up and stretched.

As we got closer to the city and the lines of tress got thinner, the sun played with the trees' shadows with its orange and pink rays. The light either meandered through tree-less spots or weaved itself and danced restlessly through them, creating images of broken light. It might've been because I was really tired and was about to fall asleep, but it was one of the most beautiful sights that I had ever seen. My last thought before I gave in was about all of the things that I was going to see. All of the people and places that I was going to meet. It was now or never.


	3. Chapter 3

Moments later, I woke up and we were in Fall City. It was nowhere near as big as Goldenrod, but it was enormous compared to Ring Town. The taxi dropped us off at our hotel and I decided to sleep in for a few more hours while Dali and Isabella shopped for clothes, food, and more supplies.

I woke up to Isabella on my chest staring at me. I was never very fond of Isabella. She always barked at everyone and her breath always stunk. I pretended like she was the cutest thing in front of Dali because it would hurt her feelings if she found out how I truly felt. I hated Eevee. They were usually pets that rich people had as symbols of their social status. I always hated shit that had to do with the "high society."

I pushed her off my bed, got a soda out of the mini fridge, and checked the clock.

"Hmm.. it's only two," I said.

"What?" Dali yelled from the bathroom.

"Nothing."

"What?"

"I just said that it's only two," I yelled back.

"Oh, yeah," Dali said as she got out of the bathroom. Her hair was wet and she smelled like soap and lavender. "I bought us Poketch's, Pokeballs, sleeping bags, army knives, rope, and a pot to cook a shit ton of ramen that I just got."

"Are you using your credit card?" I wondered. If she used that to buy all that she bought we would surely be caught in no time.

"No, I got five thousand dollars out of my dad's bank account yesterday," she stated, "Don't worry, we'll be fine. The hotel room's even under the name of Eva Peron."

"Who's that? The name sounds familiar."

"Hell, if I knew. Come here Isa." The Eevee jumped on Dali's lap as she elaborated on how she contacted a fisherman who would take us to Hoenn for three thousand dollars. That way we didn't have to use our ID's and go through security, who would surely stop us before we even set our sights on the ocean. I thought about my mom finding the note this morning. I also thought about Dali's parents calling the cops when they found out that we ran away with their money.

"We need to get haircuts and I need to dye my hair. That way, when we wear our hair differently, we'll be unrecognizable," she said with a smile, "See, we'll never get caught."

Two hours later, I was sitting on a high-chair telling a lady to thin my hair out even more while Dali was darkening her hair. Dali had thick, voluminous hair, almond shaped, chestnut eyes that were very far apart, and bone structure that could cut your hand if you touched her face. Her eyebrows, cheekbones, jawline, and lips were very defined. I looked in the mirror and looked at my face. My jawline was defined also, but my lips were plumper, my eyes were blue, and my hair was definitely lighter.

As we walked out of the hair salon, something in Dali's hair caught my eye.

"You did not," I said. Dali now had a strand of grayish pink hair on the side of her head.

"We're trainers now. Trainers started the trend of coloring their hair, y'know," she paused, "At least I didn't dye all of it pink."

"Yeah, and now people will definitely try to battle you and win all of that precious cash that you stole from your daddy," I said as Dali rolled her eyes. I couldn't imagine Dali buying into trends that lower class kids started. Not that she was elitist, but she always looked her best and knew what was in style and what looked good. I also couldn't imagine Dali as a trainer. Which gave me an idea.

"Let's go to a park and try to catch me a Pokemon."

* * *

We didn't see anything but Pidgey, Zigzagoon, and Caterpie at the park we went to. And they were kind of hard to find.

"Why do you want one from Fiore? When we get to Hoenn, there will be tons of-"

"Because. I grew up here and I want to take something from here with me. Who knows when we'll be back," I said.

"Ugh," Dali sighed, "If only you weren't so stubborn."

"Hey, your Eevee couldn't even beat that Pidgey, so I wouldn't be talking."

"Shut your ass up. It's not Isa's fault that we've never battled," Dali said while the Eevee licked her face. I laughed and got up from our hunting positions.

"Let's go, the sun's coming down and I'm starving," I said. As we walked back to the hotel, we talked about what we saw and anything that came to mind. How hungry we were. How cool the architecture was. How much drivers bitched and yelled at each other when they cut each other off in traffic. When one car almost ran us over, Dali punched the car and cussed the driver out. That had us laughing.

After quite a few blocks, we saw a pack of stray Poochyena fighting a pack of Meowths. We had seen Meowths rummaging around in trash and Poochyena fighting in alleys throughout the day, but not to that extent. They were growling and jumping wildly at each other. Both species were famous for their hostility in big cities, since they usually fought for hidden treasures in peoples' garbage.

"Shit," Dali said as she returned Isabella, who was in her arms. We were worriedly watching, distanced from the alley, when I noticed something orange on the ground. It seemed like they were playing soccer with it, and with its orange body and black stripes, it was strikingly similar to a basketball from a distance.

"They're not fighting, they're kicking that Growlithe around!" I yelled as I sprinted toward them, "Fuck off!"

As soon as they saw me, the strays froze and growled; the hair on their backs erected, trying to scare off intruders and protect their territory. I kicked a trash can and that startled them enough to run off with their tails in between their legs. Dali ran over as I began to inspect the bloody creature that was on the ground.

"It's out cold."

"Should we take it to a Pokemon Center?" said Dali, clearly worried. She had that look in her face when something was wrong and she clearly didn't like it.

"How would we get it cured without Trainer ID's? We'd have to give them some type of identification, and if we do, we're busted," I said, "Besides, we don't want to go anywhere near any place that might have our pictures and information."

"Okay, well then let's sneak it back to the hotel," Dali said. I grabbed the Growlithe with both arms and we walked back out to the street.

As if things couldn't get any worse, a cop car turned on its sirens to stop us.

* * *

**A/N:** Read and Review!


	4. Chapter 4

Luckily, within the eleven hours that we were in the city, Dali managed to learn a complicated, zig-zag shortcut to get back to the hotel. We needed to run our asses off and that's exactly what we did.

It also helped that there was a ton of traffic at that time, giving us extra time for all the cars to clear the streets.

My lungs were about to give out as we approached the hotel.

"We have to quit smoking," Dali panted.

"What do we do? We can't go in there with a bloody Growlithe in our hands and not get interrogated by that bitch at the front desk."

The bitch at the front desk was not very polite and didn't find it amusing that our hotel card didn't work when we asked her to fix it this morning. According to her sighs and eye rolls, she had a very busy schedule scratching her ass in the lobby of the hotel.

"Okay, well, go around the back and I'll find something to bring it inside with," Dali said.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, just go around the back. We can't just be standing in plain eye-sight right now."

As she walked in trying to regain her composure and I ran around the back trying to find the door to the hotel, I thought about how escapes like this only worked in movies. We really lucked out.

It was pitch black and it smelled putrid because of the dumpster that was behind all the buildings. The historic hotel was a 5 story building in downtown Fall City, and the perforation that was the back alley was surrounded by other old brick buildings from the block.

I sat on the brick backsteps and looked down at the Growlithe: it seemed like it was breathing regularly. Its eyes were very tightly shut and it was flinching every minute. From what I could remember, it was small for his species. It was emaciated and its fur was a very pale orange. Come to think of it, most strays were never in their best shape.

I was enraged when I started thinking about how it was being bullied, beaten, and controlled by others just because it was at a disadvantage. It reminded me of what happened not too long ago. All the Growlithe's muscles tensed up again.

"_If you can't find anything, just empty my backpack out and bring it. I think it'll fit_," I typed in my phone to Dali.

Moments later, she came out of the back door with an empty backpack and some towels. Without hesitation, we took it upstairs to our room on the second floor. Fortunately, there was no one at the front desk.

We went in our room and decided it was best to put it in the bathtub with some more towels. We wiped blood off of its fur and inspected the cuts.

"Should we go buy super potions or something?" Dali asked.

"I think it'd be best if we stay put for now. We don't want to risk getting seen by that cop again."

Dali sat on the toilet and had that look on her face again, "So they're definitely on the look out for us. Great."

"What happened to that optimism you had earlier?" I asked.

"That was before we had to bring a bleeding Growlithe into our bathroom in a backpack after we ran away from a cop car," Dali said, "And now they definitely know we're in Fall City. And goddammit, he won't stop bleeding. And I thought _I_ had heavy flow menstruation."

I looked at her.

"Kidding."

"Right." I turned the Growlithe on its back. "Well, it's a boy. I think," I said, looking at his genitals.

"Yeah, Isa doesn't have one of those," Dali stated, "What are we gonna do with him? Those cuts could get infected and who knows if he has a broken rib or something."

"I don't know."

We stayed in the bathroom for what seemed like ages. Dali sat on the toilet and I sat beside the tub and cleaned his gashes with clean wet towels. After feeling his body, I declared that he didn't have any broken or misplaced bones. Or at least that's what I thought. Nothing felt squishy or out of place.

"You stay here and I'll go downstairs and see if I can think of something," I said as I walked out of the bathroom. I found a sweatshirt and a snow cap on the floor, put them on, and tucked all my hair in the cap. I had to switch outfits just in case a cop approached me.

I went outside, sat on the steps in front of the main door, lit a cigarette, and tried to brainstorm on what we could do.

As the smoke was meandering in front of my face, I thought about the appetite that I lost and all that happened in the last twenty four hours. That Growlithe needed to get some kind of medical attention, and the only risk-free way would be if a licensed trainer took him to a Pokemon Center. I checked my phone before I made myself decide. It was only ten.

Making sure all my hair was tucked under my cap, I walked a block in one direction, only to find that there was a huge traffic circle I would have to cross in order to find a PokeMart.

Sure, getting potions and bandages wasn't the best idea, since there would be the chance of the Growlithe getting an infection and getting worse or it not working at all. But it would be better than nothing.

After finding a PokeMart and buying the potions, revives, disinfectants, bandages, and cigarettes that I thought would suffice, I walked back to the hotel. Looking down the whole time in case there was a cop around, I walked and thought how I just spent the last of my cash to cure this stray Growlithe. Obviously we were going to keep him. Even if I pretended to plan on releasing him after this, Dali would insist on it. I was more than sure this Growlithe was about to be my starter.

I smiled, threw my cigarette on the ground, stepped on it, and went in the hotel.

"I was about to call you," Dali said as I stepped in through the front door of the room.

"How's he doing?" I asked her.

"Not worse," she said. "He's the same as when you left. Still knocked out."

I peered in the bathroom and saw him in the tub. His cuts were starting to scab.

"Okay, let's do this."

We spent the next hour disinfecting his gashes (which made him flinch for each one he had), bandaging them, and rubbing ice on his bruises.

After spraying a potion on him, we used a revive on him and watched, expecting at least something to happen.

"Why isn't he waking up?" asked Dali.

"I guess he's really tired," I said looking at the exhausted looking Growlithe. I knew how he felt. I was tired of a lot of things, situations, and people too.

For the next two hours we made sure he was still doing well every so often. Checking on his breathing, temperature, and heart rate. Yeah, we went overboard. We were worried.

When we weren't checking on him we half-heartedly watched old sitcoms. Dali eventually ordered room service from a very limited menu. She wasn't pleased about it. "What kind of historic hotel only has cheeseburgers and pizza?"

My favorite kind.

We decided to go to downstairs after our pizza and have a cigarette once we saw that Growlithe was stable.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" I asked as we sat on the hotel front steps. The snow cap was back on my head, which was making my head itch from the early autumn temperature. Dali was in her pajamas and had her hair in a bun.

"We should stay in the hotel room for most of the day," she said as she lit a cigarette. "That way we can plan when we're going to leave and finish all those arrangements. Plus, we wouldn't be getting caught by the cops."

She passed me her lighter. There was no one out in the streets.

"Unless they've tracked us and they kick our door down tomorrow," I said. "But I agree. We need to keep an eye on Growlithe."

After a long chat on how we were going to contact the fisherman and meet him for the final arrangements tomorrow, we decided we needed to go back upstairs.

Dali stood up. After a moment she reached into her pockets and said, "I should pay you for the first-aid kit you bought tonight."

"No," I said. "You payed for my meal _and_ the hotel room. Besides, he's my Pokemon so you don't owe me anything."


End file.
